Will You Marry Me?
by AliyahNCIS
Summary: Sometimes the question has to be asked more than once.


_A/N: Yup, that's right, three in one day :) Hopefully this makes up for the last week of mourning Tony :P Thanks again for all the reviews, comments and PMs. I promise to reply to them as soon as I get the chance. You guys are awesome! :)_

Tony closed his eyes in utter bliss as he took the first bite of his partner's from scratch chocolate cake. "Oh wow. Ziva, this is the best thing I've ever tasted. I think I want to marry you."

She chuckled and shook her head. "Ask me again when you are not in a sugar coma."

Tony barely heard her as the chocolaty delight melted in his mouth, but somewhere his subconscious started a running tally - _Strike One_.

**NCIS**

Ziva didn't even blink as she put three shots in the heart of the suspect pointing a gun at her partner. Tony gasped in relief and stared up at her from the ground. "You just saved my life! Will you marry me?"

She helped him up and scanned for injuries. "People with near death experiences often experience strong feelings for their rescuers. Maybe some other time."

Tony checked his gun and sighed. _Strike Two._

**NCIS**

"Zivaaa!" Tony sang. "Zee-vah! Ziva, Ziva, Ziva."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Yes Tony, you know my name. After eight years I would hope so."

"Pretty name, pretty girl, pretty girl name," Tony babbled. He lifted a piece of her hair and brought it to his nose, then his eyes widened. "Your hair smells like rainbows!"

Ziva choked back her laughter, but couldn't contain the smile as she arched one eyebrow. "Really? And what do rainbows smell like?"

He gave her a look like 'how do you not know that?'. "Like Skittles of course - all the colours of the rainbow."

"Of course," Ziva replied, shaking her head.

He let go of her hair and stared at his hands. "Ziva, my fingers are finging."

"Let's watch a movie Tony," she suggested to her partner, hoping to focus him a bit.

"Oh yes, a movie!" Tony lit up. "But which movie?" He frowned. "Think, think, think, like Winnie the Pooh under the name of Sanders. Think, think - what movie? Ah-ha!" Tony held up one finger. "Henry the eighth I am, I am. I got married to the widow next door, she'd been married seven times bef-"

Ziva clapped her hand over his mouth. "No singing."

The expression he gave her was sadder than a puppy dog. "None at all?"

"Unless you want me to leave," she threatened.

Pain entered Tony's eyes and he grabbed for her hand. "No, don't go Ziva, please, I need you! Who would listen to my jokes and threaten me with paper clips? Who would watch movies with me? Don't go," he repeated, "I love you."

She smiled indulgently. "I love you too Tony. I will stay."

"Great," he seemed relieved. "I think you should marry me. Then we would always be together."

Ziva's heart beat a little too fast, but she knew he didn't mean it and tapped his cheek lightly. "There is a rule about making proposals while on painkillers. I am sorry."

"Oh," Tony seemed deflated. "But next time, okay?"

She smiled. "Okay. Now what about Jurassic Park?"

"Yeah, dinosaurs are good. Let's watch some dinosaurs eat people."

Ziva rolled her eyes and put in popcorn. When it beeped a few minutes later, he asked her where the elevators were. This time his mind was too drug-hazed to register Strike Three.

**NCIS**

It had been a long week, a long brutal case, and at the end neither Ziva or Tony wanted to be alone. So they went out for a late dinner and took a walk down by the river before going back to her place. Halfway through Ocean's Eleven they lay down on the couch together, not really caring how close they were. When Tony draped his arm over Ziva's waist and she didn't elbow him, he smiled and relaxed with her warmth in front of him.

After a long time Ziva's breath evened out and Tony brushed his lips over the back of her head. "I love you Ziva," he murmured. "I want to marry you. How many times do I have to ask before you say yes?" He tightened his arm around her. "Please say yes." But the only answer was her soft breathing and Tony wondered if he'd struck out a final time.

**NCIS**

"Oh Ziva," Tony managed between gritted teeth two weeks later as he put pressure on her bleeding shoulder, "what'd you have to go and get shot for?"

She hissed in pain and closed her eyes. "It was not...on purpose."

A routine stop to bring a witness in for questioning turned into a firefight and Ziva took the first hit, picked off from an upstairs window before they knew something was wrong. She managed to pull herself behind the car, suffering alone while Tony returned shots and waited for back-up. Once the scene was contained, his entire focus was on her until the paramedics arrived.

Before they took over, Ziva looked at him with pained eyes, breathing heavily from the strain. "Yes," she gasped, and his brow furrowed.

"Yes what?" He didn't remember asking her a question.

"Yes I will marry you. I love you too." Tony's mouth fell open in shock and she glared. "You better have meant it."

He swallowed and reapplied the pressure of his balled up windbreaker on her wound, sure that somewhere in his mind an announcers voice was screaming _And it's out of the park, a home run!_ "I meant it." Then Tony made a face. "Of course you would pick a time when I can't even kiss you."

She tried to smile. "Remind me later."

Medical care took precedence over everything else and Ziva was loaded onto a stretcher, even as she insisted that she was perfectly capable of walking. Tony went with her in the ambulance and held her hand the whole way. Several hours later when she woke up after surgery, he was sitting by her bed, his fingers wrapped around hers.

Ziva stirred and smiled. "Hi."

He grinned. "Hey."

She blinked slowly and looked over at her shoulder. "What is the damage?"

Tony shrugged. "A few months of physical therapy and you'll be good as new, complete with a sexy battle scar."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Very funny." She flexed the fingers on her left hand and raised her eyebrow at the change. Tapping her third finger, she lifted an eyebrow. "This is new."

He grinned. "You answered a very important question, the least I could do was get you a new accessory for it." Tony rubbed his thumb over the ring. "Like it?"

Ziva lifted her hand, then winced at the discomfort. "It is beautiful, thank you Tony."

Tony kissed the back of her hand. "Thank you for saying yes Zi, I wasn't sure you were going to."

She touched his face. "I had to be sure that you meant it. Two times is stubborn, three times is persistent, at four times I start to believe you are sincere. I love you."

Tony leaned over and placed the softest of kisses on her lips. "I love you too. Now get some rest, we have a wedding to plan."

Ziva wasn't sure if she was ready for forever with Anthony DiNozzo Jr., but she knew this man was worth sticking around for. Who knew four little words could change her whole life? And with her partner at her side and in her heart, she knew that the life they shared would be the one she had always dreamed of. Nothing was more precious than the gift of being loved.


End file.
